Oh Fortune Explained

Oh Fortune
Type:Studio
Artist:Dan Mangan
Cover:Dan Mangan Oh Fortune Album Cover.jpg
Released:September 27, 2011
Genre:Indie folk, Indie rock
Length:40:42
Label:Arts & Crafts
Prev Title:Nice, Nice, Very Nice
Prev Year:2009
Next Title:Club Meds
Next Year:2015

Oh Fortune is the Juno Award-winning third album by Canadian singer-songwriter Dan Mangan, released on September 27, 2011, on the Arts & Crafts label. The album debuted on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart the week of October 15, 2011, at number nine.[1]

The album is the follow-up to 2009's Nice, Nice, Very Nice, which was short-listed for the Polaris Prize. In contrast to its predecessor's sparse acoustic guitar, Oh Fortune relies more often on fuller orchestral arrangements, described by Now Magazines Carla Gillis as "expansive, epic orchestral indie rock".[2] It has also been described as having a darker emotional and lyrical tone, comparable to its namesake poem "O Fortuna", without becoming too grim. David Berry of the National Post describes the album's theme as "a kind of bald appraisal of the situation that packs it full of so much more — meaning, weight, beauty, humour — than your typical singer-songwriter’s over-emotive pigeonholing".[3]

At the 2012 Juno Awards, Mangan received the award for Alternative Album of the Year for Oh Fortune.[4]

Reception

Oh Fortune has received mostly positive reviews. Francois Marchand of The Vancouver Sun gave the album four and a half out of five stars, claiming that "sonically, Oh Fortune shines".[5] AllMusic's Andrew Leahy awarded the album three out of five stars, calling it the "most ornate thing [Mangan]'s ever done" and comparing it to The Swell Season.[6] Now Magazine also gave Oh Fortune three out of five stars, saying that Mangan "has leapt ahead not one or two steps, but three or four."[2]

The album was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize on June 14, 2012.[7]

Track listing

All songs composed by Dan Mangan.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.billboard.com/charts/2011-10-15/canadian-albums Billboard Canadian Albums Chart - Week of October 15th
  2. Gillis, Carla (September 22, 2011). "http://www.nowtoronto.com/music/discs.cfm?content=182781", Now Magazine. Retrieved on 2011-10-12.
  3. Berry, David (September 27, 2011). "http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/09/27/album-of-the-week-dan-mangan-oh-fortune/", National Post. Retrieved on 2011-10-12.
  4. Web site: Yearly summary: 2012 . JunoAwards.ca . Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences . April 4, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023356/http://junoawards.ca/awards/yearly-summary/?group_id=171&category_ids=171&from_year=2012&to_year=2012&submit=Search . March 4, 2016 .
  5. Marchand, Francois (September 27, 2011). "https://vancouversun.com/review+Mangan+Fortune+shines+darkly/5460585/story.html ", The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved on 2011-10-12.
  6. Web site: Oh, Fortune . Andrew Leahy . AllMusic .
  7. https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/1211442--polaris-prize-long-list-includes-lots-of-toronto-bands?bn=1 "Polaris Prize long list includes lots of Toronto bands"